


first impressions

by thedreamerdelta



Series: Scattered Dreams [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Gen, i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 21:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30146007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedreamerdelta/pseuds/thedreamerdelta
Summary: Thancred was not sure what to think of Cethys K’alla.
Series: Scattered Dreams [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2218602
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	first impressions

Thancred was not sure what to think of Cethys K’alla.

For one, she was - other than Papalymo, who had an excuse, and the twins, who weren’t there - easily the shortest one out of all the Scions, and it was hard to take anyone as a serious threat when they needed a ladder to reach the research books on the second highest shelf.

On the other hand, she at least  _ tried _ to keep up and do research with the lot of them, so she did at least have that going for her if nothing else. 

He was through with taking her to the Gold Saucer, though. Her chocobo was a bright red colour and seemed to be trained more for combat than racing, and she had  _ no _ Mahjong instincts to speak of whatsoever. 

Ascilia was absolutely  _ determined _ to have her on board, however, so he kept his opinions on that mostly to himself.

She was quite descent at the Crystal Tower game, admittedly. And Triple Triad, which she had somehow very nearly mastered.

“Do you really think she’s one of the Warriors of Light?” Yda asked him one day over breakfast at the Waking Sands. 

“Minfilia seems to think so.” He flipped the current pancake he was working on. “I trust her judgement.”

“Mmm.” She hummed in between bites. “Not surprised.”

He rolled his eyes and held his tongue.

“Did you read her report on the incident with the Sultana?”

“No,” Thancred replied, confused. “I was there. No need.”

Yda got up from the table, clearing her dishes away. “You ought to take a look. It might be worth your time.”

He turned off the burner with a  _ click _ and sat down with his own plate. “Perhaps.”

Now why would she say that?

* * *

_ datetime unknown. the sun is just risen. _

_ i join a parade - they say they are celebrating an anniversary of some sort. i do not know what.  _

_ i meet people - they say they are adventurers. they are fighting illusions that appear in the streets.  _

_ i  _ ~~_ die _ ~~ _ fall unconscious from imaginary damage and rise again - they say it is all part of the experience. i wish i were anywhere else. _

_ i find a woman, hiding from the world to pray underneath a giant’s tree. she is more and less powerless than she knows. _

_ i find a man, hiding in plain sight above the clear blue skies. he is in more and less danger than he knows. _

_ i find an ancient being, disappearing into the void to fulfill forgotten promises. my eyes tell me they are an enemy. my heart tells me they were a friend. my soul cries words in a language i do not speak. _

_ i am asked about a man named louisoix _

_ i do not know his story, but i feel his sorrow in my bones _

_ i hear his heartbeat in the survivors of this calamity _

_ this city is named ul’dah, and i do not know how i got here. _

_ Cethys K’alla _

* * *

Thancred takes a grief-filled moment to stare out the window at the sunset over Vesper Bay.

Yda sits beside him and rolls the scroll back up. “Yeah, me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as always to the lovely and delightful [book club discord](%E2%80%9C) for all their words of wholesome encouragement (and other, slightly less pure emotions).


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